Your blogger celebrates 33 years with Gannett, and the future, too.

Exactly 33 years ago today, I walked into the northeast bureau of the Norwich (Conn.) Bulletin, reporting for my first day of work. I would sit in front of the old, black manual typewriter and start banging way. I was paid $175 gross per week.

I was assigned to cover the towns of Thompson and Woodstock, with a combined geography of more than 100 square miles. Even today, they have a combined population of just more than 17,000.

This classic black Royal typewriter is similar to one I used at the start of my career with Gannett 33 years ago. It is for sale at myTypewriter.com in case you were thinking of buying me a Christmas present.

My favorite story from those early days was about a 2-year-old boy who set off a huge manhunt in the woods in the dead of winter by wandering off from home. Kept warm by the family beagle, the child survived two nights before being found alive. I’ve always meant to look up that kid and see how he’s doing.

Fast forward to now — and trust me, it has been a very fast forward. Instead of a typewriter, I’m filing this blog — an unknown word 33 years ago — on my iPad. Instead of filing by the use of some miracle scanning device of 1979 back to the home office, I’m using America’s largest 4G network and Wi-Fi.

I’m proud to have spent all 33 years with the Gannett Company, the nation’s largest news organization. It was once a newspaper company that owned some other stuff. It is now a media and digital marketing services company that literally has led the world in the transformation of our industry. We honor the past, but get excited about the future.

I’m proud of that, too.

This is how I wrote this blog, on my iPad, which is a little easier to carry around than a typewriter and shoots photos and video. And as long as you are already Christmas shopping for me, I’d like a new iPad, too. This one is already old technology.

I truly believe this is the most amazing time in the history of journalism and media. We are shaping the future of media that form the cornerstone of democracy and serve as freedom’s watchdog, here and around the globe. My journey from those tiny towns in Connecticut has taken me places where such a noble concept is still a dream; free speech is bought daily with the courage of the journalist.

America is still the great beacon of hope for oppressed people everywhere, and don’t let the negativity of those tearing it down to get your vote tell you otherwise. It is why I’ve gone to those nations and will continue to go back as long as I can help.

Still, there is much to do here at home in Tallahassee to defend and protect the free exchange of ideas and opinion, to protect the public’s right to access and control its government and the publication of news and information critical to our own ongoing great experiment in freedom. The pressures here are different from those in places such as Pakistan, Turkey, Armenia and even Argentina and Brazil, to be sure, but they remain nonetheless.

The last 33 years have seen amazing changes in our industry. The consumer has emerged as pre-eminent, with ever higher demands for quality, delivery and technology.

The tablet edition is a rapidly growing way for consumers to get their news.

That will continue in 2013 as more and more consumers turn to their phones or tablets for the delivery of information on demand, with smart media outlets knowing that and getting there first.

Change has not been simply about technology. The people have changed. Newsrooms have become information centers. Caring about the community is now a job requirement. We tell stories about real life, which is different from simply writing articles.

The changes we’ve seen in the last 33 years will be nothing compared with what is yet to come, not in 33 years but in the next one to five years.

Coming off a meeting last week with my Gannett editors and digital producers colleagues, I can assure you we are ready to confront the

The use of mobile to consume news and information on demand from traditional sources is expected to explode in the next five years.

challenge of continuous change and not only embrace it but also be thrilled by the pace.

Locally, we have been among the nation’s leaders in modeling new ways of doing business, using social media and innovating in our digital journalistic methods. We intend to win you over and keep you by committing to continue to lead the change and deliver the news and information you need, when you demand it and how you want to get it. That’s what journalists do. Because in the end, nothing really important about our journalism has changed much in the last 33 years.

The need and desire for quality journalism that is a foundation of American democratic values is now, always has been, and will forever be who we are and what we do at the Tallahassee Democrat.

You can send comments by clicking on Bob Gabordi’s blog on Tallahassee.com, e-mailing him at bgabordi@tallahassee.com, sending a private message on Tallahassee.com and Twitter @bgabordi. You can also find links to his blogs on Facebook. He’s on LinkedIn, too. His mailing address is Bob Gabordi, Executive Editor, Tallahassee Democrat, P.O. Box 990, Tallahassee, FL 32302. His telephone number is 850-599-2177.

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About The Author

You can send comments by clicking on Bob Gabordi’s blog on Tallahassee.com or Move.Tallahassee.com, e-mailing him at bgabordi@tallahassee.com, sending a private message on Tallahassee.com and Twitter @bgabordi. You can also find links to his blogs on Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+. His mailing address is Bob Gabordi, Executive Editor, Tallahassee Democrat, P.O. Box 990, Tallahassee, FL 32302. His telephone number is 850-599-2177.